This document is intended as a high-level quick start guide for the key page authoring actions in AEM. This document:
For full details about authoring with AEM see:
Before beginning the quick start guide, here is a small collection of general tips and hints that you should bear in mind, divided between areas of the authoring system.
Create Button
Re-ordering Pages
Navigating Links
Links are not available for navigation when you are in Edit mode. To navigate with links you need to preview the page using either:
Versions are not started/created from the page editor. This is now done from the Sites console (via either Create or Timeline for a selected resource).
There are a number of keyboard shortcuts that can make the authoring experience easier.
There are various aspects to finding a page; you can navigate and/or search:
Open the Sites console (using the Sites option in the Global Navigation - this is triggered (drop-down) when you select the Adobe Experience Manager link (top left).
Navigate down the tree by tapping/clicking on the appropriate page. How the page resources are represented depends on the view you are using - Card, List, or Column:
Navigate up the tree using the breadcrumb in the header, which lets you return to the selected location:
You can also Search for a page. You can select your page from the results shown.
Navigate to the location where you want to create the new page.
Use the Create icon and then select Page from the list:
This opens the wizard that will guide you through collecting the information needed when creating your new page. Follow the on screen instructions.
You can select a page so that you can take action on it. Selecting a page will automatically update the toolbar so that the actions relevant to that resource are shown.
How to select a page depends on which view you are using in the console:
Column View:
List View:
Card View:
Enter selection mode by selecting the required resource. How you do this depends on your device:
The card is overlaid with a tick to show that the page has been selected.
Quick actions are available:
Navigate to the page you want to take action on.
Hover your mouse pointer over the card that represents your required resource. The quick actions are shown:
To edit your page:
Navigate to the page you want to edit.
Open your page for editing using the Edit (pencil) icon:
This can be accessed from either:
When the editor opens you can:
Add a new component to your page by:
The side panel can be opened (and closed) with:
Edit the content of an existing component on the page:
Open the component toolbar with either tap or click. Use the Edit (pencil) icon to open the dialog.
Open the in place editor for the component with either tap-and-hold or a double-slow-click. The available actions are shown (for some components, it is a limited selection).
To see all actions available enter full-screen mode using:
Configure the properties of an existing component
Move a component either:
Copy (and Paste) a component:
You can Paste components to either the same page, or a different page. If pasting to a different page that was already open before the cut/copy operation, then that page will need a page refresh.
Delete a component:
Add annotations to the page:
Select the Annotate mode (speech bubble icon). Add annotations using the Add annotation (plus) icon. Exit annotation mode using the X at top right.
Preview a page (to see how it will appear in the publish environment)
Return to edit mode (or select another mode) using the Edit drop-down selector.
To navigate using links in the content you must use Preview mode.
There are two (main) methods of editing page properties:
From the Sites console:
Navigate to the page you want to publish.
Select the Properties icon from either:
The page properties are shown. You can make updates as required, then use Save to persist these
When editing your page:
Open the Page Information menu.
Select Open Properties to open the dialog for editing the properties.
There are two main methods of publishing your page (and also of unpublishing):
From the Sites console:
Navigate to the page you want to publish.
Select the Quick Publish icon from either:
When editing your page:
Unpublishing a page from the console can only be done via the Manage Publication option, which is only available on the toolbar (not via the quick actions).
The Unpublish Page option is still available via the Page Information menu in the editor.
See Publishing Pages for more information.
These actions can all be triggered by:
Navigate to the page you want to move, copy and paste, or delete.
Select the copy (and then paste), move or delete icon as required using either:
Then, dependent on your action:
Copy:
Move:
Delete is not available as a Quick Action.
Locking a page prevents other authors from working on it while you are. The Lock (and Unlock) icon/button can be found:
For example, the lock icon looks like this:
Quick access to references to/from a page are available in the References Rail.
Select References using the toolbar icon (either before or after selecting your page):
A list of reference types is shown:
Tap/click on the required type of reference to show more details and (when appropriate) take further actions.
To create a version of your page:
To open the Timeline rail, select Timeline using the toolbar icon (either before or after selecting your page):
Tap/click on the ellipsis at the bottom right of the Timeline column to reveal extra buttons, including Save as Version.
Select Save as Version, then Create.
The same basic mechanism is used when restoring and/or comparing versions of your page:
Select Timeline using the toolbar icon (either before or after selecting your page):
If a version of your page has already been saved, it is listed in the Timeline.
Tap/click on the version you want to restore - this will reveal additional action buttons:
Revert to this Version
Show Differences